about eW and the author

Our world is increasingly digitally mediated, yet we remain human. As companies continue to crank out new technical capabilities, the questions of how and why humans interact with these experiences have yet to be answered (and won’t be by the private sector).

In order to try and understand the evolving dynamics and ever-changing digital landscape, you need a conceptual framework that can serve as a scaffold for understanding and synthesis of understanding. Emulsional Worlds takes the chemistry metaphor of emulsions and applies it to the human-digital interfaces, interactions, and experiences.

About the author: Todd Richmond is described as a polymath by many, troublemaker by some. He is currently Director of the Tech & Narrative Lab at Pardee RAND Graduate School. Previously he was the Director of Advanced Prototypes at the USC Institute for Creative Technologies, and has served as adjunct faculty in the USC School of Cinematic Arts and USC Marshall School of Business, as well as Managing Director of the USC Annenberg Center for Communication (a new media research center). In a previous life (i.e. the 90’s) he was a chemistry professor at The Claremont Colleges, incorporating web and digital into teaching, while doing research in protein engineering.

Todd is also a musician, currently performing and recording with a number of bands in SoCal, and is a published photographer and videographer. He has spent time on various tracks on the west coast as a club racer (with POC), remains a two-wheeled enthusiast on both motorcycles and bicycles, is a perpetual Tai Chi student, and for a brief time delivered singing telegrams.

Todd earned a B.A. in chemistry from the University of San Diego, a Ph.D. in chemistry from Caltech, and was a postdoctoral fellow at U.C. San Francisco. He also earned various degrees from the school of hard knocks as a gigging musician, cable TV installer, and technology evangelist. He currently lives in Lompoc with his wife (a visual artist and faculty at Calarts) and two cats. His son is a graduate of the Interactive Media and Games program at USC SCA and serves as his bellwether for gaming.